Yarn tension and moisture control means for knitting machines



June 39, 19%. Q F. H. GERMAN 2,046,23

YARN TENSION AND MOISTURE CONTROL MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Fil ed Feb. 7, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l g 34 I "I v 23 INVENTOR 3| FREDDIE H. GERMAN BY HIS ATTORNEYS June 3% W36. F. H. GERMAN 2%623 BANS FOR KNITTENG MACHINES YARN TENSION AND MOISTURE CONTROL M 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 7, 1956' INVE TQR FREDDIE H. GERMAN BY HIS ATTORNEYS Patented June 30, 1936 YARN TENSEGN AND MGISTURE CONTROL MEANS FGR KNE'E'EKNG MACWS Freddie H. German, Hawthorne, N. 23., asslgncr to Germer Textile Fetents, lino, Paterson, N. 3., a corporation oi New iersey Application February 7, 3936, Serial No. 62,861

' is Elaims. (or. to -125i This invention relates to means for controlling the tension and moisture content of yarns used in knitting machines. In straight knitting machines such as full-fashioned stocking knitting machines, it is customary to feed the yarn. from the cone or other supply through a, moistening trough and then over a felt before it goes to the ring tensloning device and the snapper and thence to the needles. ifhese felts play an important part in giving the yarns uniform tension and moisture content, but they require frequent cleaning and replacement and do not provide satisfactory uniformity of tension or moisture control. One object of my invention is to provide tensioning means which will give a uniform tension to the yarn at all times, and another object is to provide means which will insure uniform moisture content in yarns which have to he moistoned before they are used in the machine. The invention will be shown and described embodied in a so-called' full-fashioned stocking knitting machine, but it should be understood that the invention is equally applicable to other types of knitting machines.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a view partly in vertical cross section through so much of a full-fashioned knitting machine embodying the inventionas is necessary to show the supplying of yarns to the carrier. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical cross section through.

the moistening trough of the knitting machine of Fig. 1, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3, showing the new control means;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one end of the trough of I cones or supply ll are kept in moistening boxes chine.

62 mounted .at the rear of the machine on the frame or gallows l3, as shown for instance in Fig. 1. With some types of yams the moistening boxes it are not necessary, but they are advisable in good work involving the use of natural silk. The yarn 20 is drawn from the cone it through an eye M in the top of the moistening box 12, whence the yarn passes over a stationary yarn guide frame l5 and toward the front of the ma- It is necessary that silk yarns be moistened more thoroughly than is possible in the moistening boxes I2, and therefore the natural silk or other yarn is led from the stationary guide iii to a moistening trough It; This trough is made of metal and is suspended from a bar so on the gallows 43. It is long enough to cover several yarn feeding positions on themachine. It is kept partially full of water H and the yarn is caused to pass through this water by being led through the eye it in the wall of the trough and under an immersion rod it running longitudinallyof the trough under the water and then up again.

Heretofore the primary tensioning means for the yarn in machines of this character and the means for removing the surplus water from the yarn. so as to give it a uniform moisture content,

consisted of a i'elt carried on the trough it and From the felt the yarn goes to a so-calied ring I tension device consisting of the usual wire 25 with a loop 26 at its lower end and a light wire ring ll threaded on, the vertical wire (see Fig. l). Thence the yarn goes to the so-called snapper El which works intermittently to stop movement of the yarn during loop formation and narrowing. From the snapper the yarn goes to another stationary guide to and thence to the yarn car rier and knitting elements (notshown) When using felt, the yarn was led across the top of the felt, or in some instances on top of one felt and under another, relying on the character of the felt to take off the surplus water, to allow knots to pass and to provide a uniform. tension on the yarn between the felt and the knitting ele ments. These felts have always been the most unsatisfactory part of the full-fashioned knitting machine because with the passage of time they either become dry or else gummed up with the sericin which they collect ofi the yarns, and in either case the amount of tension which they. ,7

put on the yarn is thereby changed. In addition the continuous passage of the yarn cuts a groove in the felt and eventually cuts right through the felt, which oi course means a change of ten= sion and a catching of knots, causing a break in the yarn and a press-oft in the product. The changes in tension due to change in character of. any individual felt are frequently so extreme as to cause the ring on the wire to get out of its compensating or middle position and either to rest on the ring is at the bottom of the wire or to be heldsteadily at itshighest point. Owing to these variations in gum-content of the feltvariations in dampness, cuts in the felt, etc., it is found that a machine otherwise uniformly adjusted may produce stockings whose'length varies from say 28 /2 to 32" in length. If this shortest length of 28 7 is considered too short to be marketable, then it is necessary to knit all the stockings one or two inches longer in order that none may be as short at 28 /2". Furthermore whenthe stockings are dyed it becomes necessary to pair them according to lengthand with these variationsin length the finisher has great trouble .in doing his pairing. Also it is generally considered commercially desirable that all the stockings should be of the same or a controlled length, and these variations due to tension prevent this desirable uniformity of product. Another disadvantage of the changes in character of the in advantage of using felt is that hard-natured silk and soft-natured silk give up a different amount .of moisture to the felt and this difference in moisture in, the yarns helps to create "sleazy fabric.' The felts taking out moisture by absorption only, are precludedby-changes in nature of the yarn from reducing all yarns to the same moisture content. Thus a hard-natured yarn presenting a compact surface to the felt will let go of a lesser amountoi its moisture than a portion of silk which is looser and presents a large area of contact with the felt. Since in the full-fashionedknitting machine 1 each yarn is generally-led over a separate felt, it

ture of the yarns.

is particularly important in the machines where three yarns are fed to the needles in integral succession (i. e., the so-called ringless method), to be sure that all the felts are taking out the same amount of moisture. It is very diflicult to get uniformity in moisture content from several felts, and the result is that one frequently gets a washboard" effect due to the different conditions of the felts, in addition to the -washboard" effect caused by the unevenness in nature of any particular yarn.

Sleaziness in fabrics may be due to any one of several things. It may be due to non-uniformity in moisture content, as already mentioned, nonuniformity of tension or non-uniformity of na- All threeof these disadvantages are presentwhen felts are used;

Another disadvantage of the use of felts lies in the fact that the contact of silk yarn with the felt creates static electricity which often corrodes the moisture trough and shortens its life very materially.

It has also been noted that any'variation in the tension created by the felt produces a ragged edge at the high splice heel and sole reinforce-. ments and also gives a selvage which is loose and uneven. Themaking of a reinforced heel, toe and sole when plating yarns of different character, such for instance as silk and cotton, is very difficult when using separatefelts, as is necessary in the full-fashioned knitting machines, because variations in the tension tend to cause reversal of the plating. Furthermore unequalizecl tension i sometimes results in uneven heels, one side being 9 or platform has forked legs 23, 'a pair of which straddle the edges -of the trough l5 and the rail 2|, respectively, as shown in Fig. 2. At each end of the platform 22 as it appears'in Fig. 2 is a porcelain eye 24 midway of the sides of the platform. The-yarn 20 coming from the submerged rod I9 passes upwardly and through the eye 24 above the rail 2| and thence across the platform to the eye 24 at the edge of the trough It. On the control frame or platform 22 which is mounterated means which function to squeeze out surplus water, permit passage 'of knots'an'd provide uniform tension on the yarns at all times. For this purpose there are two upright posts 29 on the frame 22, one at each side of the frame about midway between the rafl 2| and the edge of the trough. These posts 29 are grooved vertically on their opposedfaces to form complemental channels 30" which run from the top of the posts to the bottom. Midway between these twoposts there is an opening II through the frame which ed above the moisture trough l6 are gravity-oppermits moisture 'to drip down into the moistening trough. Held in position by these channels are a plurality of smooth, hard-surfaced rolls I2, 33 stretching across the opening 3|. examples shown in the drawings only two rolls In the areshown'and described, but under certain'circumstances three rolls may be preferred. One

suitable material from which theserolls can be made is glass, though I do not wish to confine my invention to this one materiaL. I also find it preferable to make these of uniform diameter throughout their length, though under certain circumstances it may be preferable to make the bearings of the rolls which lie in the channels of.

lesser diameter than the remainder of the rolls. These rolls lie in the grooves 30, free of all restraint other than gravity, and the posts 29 hold one roll above the other. The porcelain eyes 24 at. each end' of the frame 22 have their centers about on the level with a line passing between the two rolls so that these eyes guide the yarn 20 between the rolls. If a larger arc of contact is desired on either roll to getany particular relationbetween squeeze and tension, the eyes can be raised or lowered. It will be obvious that thpressure on the yarn as it passes between the rolls is the weight of the upper roll. The weight of that roll must be properly coordinated with the desired tension. For this purpose it is good practice to ascertain the desired tension by means of. a tensiometer. Different weights of rolls of approximately the same order as the figure shown by the tensiometer then can be tried until'by ob-. servation the desired effect is obtained. Any experienced knitter can tell from the manner in which the machine is operating and by the prodnot, whether he desires a slightly greater or slight ly lesser tension, and then change the rolls accordingly. I have found that'it is desirable to use rolls of slightly-diiferentweights, according Gil of the same diameter.

to the size of thread being used. Thus in one full-fashioned knitting machine in which the invention has been embodied, I have found that when knitting with a 3-thread or 4-thread silk yarn, a hollow glass roll weighing34 grams will give a suitable tension, and'in the same machine with the same setting a solid roll weighing 4'7 grams is suitable for 5, 6 or '7-thread yarns. It should be understood that these weights, are merely examples and would doubtless vary from one machine to another, from one desired product to another or from one kind of yarn to another. In Fig. 2 the top roll 32 is shown as a solid roll, while in Fig. the top roll 39 is shownhollow. It might also be noted that with the construction described these rolls can easily be taken out of their holders at any time when it is desired to change the rolls, to thread the machine, or to change the yarns in the machine. It maybe desirable with certain types of machines making certain fabrics to have the weight of roll different for each numbered thread. Thus for one machine it has been found that a gram roll is suitable for S-thread silk yarn, a gram roll for l-thr'ead, a gram roll for 5-thread, a gram roll for G-thread, and a gram roll for 7-thread. It should be understood that in another mill or on another machine proper practice might re-' quire different weights, and that the invention is applicable to a smaller yarn than B-thread and to a greater yarn than 'l-thread For simplicity in holding the rolls it is preferable that the two be It should be noted that it only takes the minimum length of time to remove'the upper roll and replace it when changing the size of yarn, this alone saving a lot of time heretofore lost.

The lower roll 33 performs a somewhat different function from' the upper roll 32. As can be seen by reference to Fig. 4 or Fig. 5 of the drawings, it is preferable that the lower roll lie in a recess 34 in the upper face of the frame 22. In this way the frame has frictional contact with the lower roll, and ofcourse according to the depth of the recess 34 and the width of the drip or weephole 3|, the amount of frictional contact or resistance to turning of the lower roll can be changed. In the example shown in the drawings. the recess 34 is slightly less in depth than half the diameter of the lower roll (both the lower roll 33 and the upper roll 32 are preferably equal in diameter to the width of the channels 30 in the posts 29). Ordinarily it is not necessary to change the lower roll when changing from one weight of thread. to a closely similar weight. The weight of the lower roll, the smoothness of its surface and its frictional contact with the frame should be such that ordinarily this lower roll does not turn as a silk yarn is pulled through the device, except perhaps infinitesimally. On the other hand, these factors should be so adjusted that if a large knot comes by, the lower roll can turn sufficiently to ease the passage of the knot without causing the yarn to break. In this case the lower roll should turn sufficiently to ease the knot through betweenthe rolls without causing breakage, and then the lower roll will cease to turn. It will be found that when the upper roll is of proper weight to produce the desired tension on a silk yarn, the upper roll tends to revolve while the yarn is being pulled through between the rolls, but that it does not revolve asfast as the yarn passes through. This is the ideal condition when feeding silk yarn, and the operator should watch to see that the weight of the upper roll is such as to give this slower revolution of the upper roll. The heavier the yarn or the heavier the ro1l,'the less slippage there will be between the upper roll and the yarn. With this tension device thus adjusted, the tension ring will always be in compensated positiona most desirable thing.

With rolls of this character, mounted as described and of the proper weight, the operation of the device in handling a moistened silk yarnwill be as follows. As this yarn 28 comes from underneath the submerged rod l9 and through the leading porcelain eye 25, it'has surplus moisture on it, and as it passes between the upper roll 32 and lower roll 33 there is a sort of wringer" or squeezing effect obtained. It will be observed that the squeeze is due to the weight of the upper roll and that in this way all variations in pressure due to springs or levers are avoided. In order that the advantage of this squeeze may not be partially lost due to passage of the liquid squeezed out of the yarn between the rolls in the direction in which the yarn is going, it will be observed that the delayed rotation of the upper roll and the stationary character of the lower roll perform a valuable function. Thus, as can be seen by reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings, all the liquid squeezed out of the yarn rolls down the lower roll on the side toward the yarn supply,

uniform pressure, and therefore hard-natured.

yarn and soft-natured yarn of the same number of threads will be squeezed by the same weight and therefore will have the same amount of moisture left in them after passage between the rolls. It might also be noted at this'point that as the surplus liquid washes down over the lower roll it tends to carry away any gum or grit which has been squeezed out of the yarn, so that the lower roll is always kept clear and will present the same surface to the yarn at all times. As already mentioned, the normal adjustment of the lower roll is to have it retarded so greatly by frictional contact with the recess 34 that it will turn only infinitesimally except when a knot or other usual formation passes the rolls. By having the lower roll sumciently loose in this manner, a momentary sudden ncrease in tension due to a knot or other obstruction is avoided. Furthermore the turning of this roll from time to time will helpto prevent the yarn eventually cutting a groove in the lower roll. The tension on the yarn produced by the construction described is an extremely satisfactory one. It is uniform at all times. Owing partly to the fact that the upper roll is not turning as fast as the yarn is moving, as soon as the pull of the yarn guide at the end of a course is sto ped the yarn ceases to pass between the rolls. Heretofore when the carrier stopped pulling the yarn,

troduotion of any variable factors, it has been numerous. The length of the stockings produced by any given adjustment of the machine will be main uniform and without change at all those feeds. The value of this, particularly with ringchines. tion that the tension ring never drops to the absolutely uniform, thus making it unnecessary to make the stockings extra long in order to be sure to avoid a stocking which is too short and the finisher has his troubles of pairing reduced to an absolute minimum. The product of a machine having this tension device on it will there'- fore be all of the average length. There will be no stockings in which the stitches are so tight that they are not adaptable to the contours of the leg. Furthermore there is no loss or making of irregulars due to differences in tension adjustments on the leggers and thefooters. Sleaziness due to non-uniformity of tension or non-uniformity of moisture content is also avoided, and further it has been noted that the device controls the vibrations of the yarn as it passes to. the yarn finger or carrier, thereby avoiding the creation of variance in the nature of the yarn. Again, this device eliminates troublesome conditions in plating. If silk and cotton yarns are being plated together, the cotton yarn is runbetween the rolls only and kept with just enough tension to place the cotton under the silk thread evenly so that it appears on the reverse side of the finished stocking. This invention makes it possible to adjust the tension on a number of yarns in the same machine or separate machines to exactly the same point, and to be sure that the tension will reless knitting, will be obvious to anyone. The uniformity obtainable is greater than has heretofore been possible on full-fashioned knitting ma- The device is so accurate in its operalooper 26 at the bottom of its wire.

With certain smooth yarns, such for instance as rayon, it is not necessary to moisten the yarn and therefore there is no question of uniform moisture content in tensioning such a yarn. In this case it is not necessary to hold the lower roll back frictionally and the bottoms of the channels 30 in this case are not hollowed out like the remainder of the recess 34 in the case of the natural silk yarn, and the lower roll therefore can revolve freely, if desired. It is found that the difference in tension due to allowing the lowerroll to turn is not very great and'therei'ore it will probably not be necessary in the ordinary case to r adjust the weight of the upper roll because of the revolution of the lower roll. Furthermore owing to the possibility that rayon will have a lower tensile strength thannatural silk, it may be desirable to have both rolls turning at the speed of the yarn. It is found that when the lower roll is allowed to turn freely both rolls will turn at the same speed as the rayon yarn going through them and the amount of yarn pulled through the rolls when the carrier stops pulling is so small that the compensator, i. e., the ring tension, can take care of it and there will be no slack in the selvage.

Another advantage of the new construction in the case of both natural silk and rayon is the fact that the tension device can have no backlash, i. e.. the rolls do not turn in the reverse direction the yarn shall be only that of gravity. -It is also of the essence of my invention when dealing the rolls.

worsted, silk, rayon or any other yarn. Many thereby creating a loop which might catch on the bobbin. t a

The manner of threading up a cotton or rayon yarn which does not have to be immersed in the moisture trough is shown in the lower part of 5 Fig. 3 where the ,yarn goes directly from the a porcelain eye iii in the wall of the trough nearest to the yarn supply to the eye 24 on the frame 22 and thence between the rolls to the other eye, 24 and to the compensating ring. J

In Fig. 5 is shown a modified form of-moistening trough 35. This trough is narrower than that of Figs. 1 to 4 and the end of the gravitycontrolled frame which overlies the moistening trough is carried by a wall 36 extending tothe bottom of the tank. In this case instead of the frame 22 of Figs. 1 to 4, ashorter frame I! is ,em-

'ployed and there is a wall acting as a support for the inner end of each frame. It is preferably formed unitary therewith and'of course extends 20 longitudinally of the trough only for the-width of the frame. Instead of the immersion rod IS. an

individual eye 38 is bolted to this vertical wall 36 and guides the yarn from the entering eye I! into the liquid, from whence it turns-upward to .the 5 porcelain eye 2| at the top of theframe. In this way it is possible to. thread up the device before placing it on the immersion trough. It should. also be noted in connection with this modification-as well as with the original device shown in Figs. 1 to 4-that it is very easy to remove the upperroll, lay in the yarn and put the top roll A back in position. 1 a It will be. obvious that if two=upper rolls-one.

on top of the other or one beside the other/both 35 pressing onto a lower roll or rolls-are employed, the construction would still come within the scope of my invention. Providing a-roll beneath the lower roll when using rayon in order that both the upper roll 32 and the lower roll 33 may turn freely, would also be a'construction coming within the scope of my invention. It is of the essence of my invention, however, that the top roll be smooth and that the pressure of the top roll on 'to provide the tensioning be entirely of gravity.

The invention is applicable to cotton, wool, linen,

variations of myinvention will occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the, scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. For a knittingv machine, a yarn deliverin tension device comprising two or more smooth .rolls pressed together only by the weight of the top roll, the weight of the upper roll being of the order of the desired yarn tension, in combination with a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding the rolls in place, the upper roll being free to revolve in the direction of yarn movement. I

- 2. For a knitting machine, a yarn control device comprising two smooth, hard-surfaced rolls.

. one resting freely on .the other, the upper roll and means retarding the lower roll against turn! 75 en a es ing freely, said upper roll being free to revolve in the direction of yarn movement.

' 3. In a knitting machine, a yarn supply, a compensating tension ring and a yarn tension device tensioning the yarn as it is delivered to the ring, comprising two smooth rolls pressed together by gravity, and means guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding the latter in place, the upper roll being free to revolve in the direction of yarn movement, said tension device being adapted to maintain the ring in compensating position;

4. For a knitting machine, a yarn tension device comprising two smooth rolls, one resting on the other throughout its entire length, pressed together only by the weight of the top roll, the weight of the upper roll being of the order of the desired yarn tension, in combination with a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding one roll on top of the other, the upper roll Ming free to revolve in the direction of yarn movement.

5. For a knitting machine, a yarn tension device for delivering the yarn to the knitting elements, comprising two smooth, hard-surfaced rolls, one resting freely on the other with a pressure of the order of thedesiredyarn tension, the upper one being free to turn, said rolls being of uniform diameter throughout their length','in combination with means guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding them removably in place.

6. In a knitting machine, a yarn supply, a moistening trough, a tension compensating ring and yarn control means between said supply and ring, said yarn control means comprising two hard-surfaced rolls pressed together by gravity, and a frame mounted above the moistening trough guiding the yarn from the trough between the rolls and to the compensating ring, said frame providing frictional resistance to turning of the lower roll so as to insure that moisture squeezed out of the yarn by the rolls will run down on the yarn supply side of the lower roll, said upper roll not being retarded against turning, said lower roll being frictionally retarded against turning freel 7. For a knitting machine, a yarn control device comprising two smooth, hard-surfaced rolls, one pressing on the other with a gravity weight only, in combination with a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and in frictionalcontact with the lower roll to prevent its turning except on passage of a knot or other temporary change in the yarn increasing the surface contact with the lower roll, the upper roll being free to turn.

8. For a knitting machine, a yarn control device comprising two smooth, hard-surfaced rolls,

one resting on the other, in combination with a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding the rolls in position, said frame providing frictional resistance to the lower roll turning due to the weight of the roll, thus insuring that any moisture squeezed from the yarn by the two rolls will roll down the lower roll on the side toward the yarn supply.

9. In a knitting machine, a yarn supply and a moistening trough, in combination with yarn control means mounted above the moistening trough, comprising two smooth rolls pressed to,- gether by the weight of one, and a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and providing frictional resistance to turning of the lower roll so as to insure that any moisture squeezed out of the yarn by the rolls will roll down the lower roll on the yarn supply side, and means guiding the yarn into the moisture trough and thence to the. yarn control device.

' 10. In a knitting machine, a yarn supply, a moistening trough, a tension compensating ring and yarn control means. between said supply and .5 ring, said yarn control means comprising two hard-surfaced rolls pressed together by gravity, and a frame mounted above the moistening trough guiding the yarn from the trough be-' tweentherolls and to the compensating ring, said frame providing frictional resistance to turning of the lower roll so as to insure that moisture squeezed out of the yarn by the rolls will run down on the yarn supply side of the lower roll, said upper roll not being retarded against turning.

11. In a knitting machine, a yarn supply, a moistening trough, a tension compensating ring and yarn control means receiving yarn from the trough and passing it to the compensating ring, comprising a frame to guide the yarn, in combination with two hard-surfaced rolls, one resting freely on top of the other in the frame, the upper roll being free 'to turn and the lower roll having frictional contact with the frame to retard its turning so as to insure that any moisture squeezed out of the yarn will not pass through the rolls.

12. In a knitting machine, a yarn tension de-- vice comprising two smooth, hard-surfaced rolls, one resting freely on the other, in combination witha frame guiding the yarnlbetween the rolls and holding them in place, the weight of the upper roll being such-that the rollwill turn but at a speed slower than the passage of the yarn 35 so as to give the desired yarn tension uniformly there being frictional resistance between the lower roll and the frame to prevent its turning except on passage of a knot or the like.

13. In a knitting machine, a yarn tension device for delivering the yarn to the knitting elements comprising two smooth, hard-surfaced rollers pressed together by the weight of one roll on top of the other, the weight or the top roll being of the order of the strength of pull with which the yarn is drawn from the tension device, in combination with a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding the top roll in position, the upper roll being free to turn and the lower roll being retarded so as to turn only intermittently.

14. In a knitting machine, a yarn delivering tension and moisture control device comprising two smooth, hard-surfaced rolls, one resting freely on the other with only its: own, weight, in combination with a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding them in place, the weight of the upper roll being such that the roll will turn but at a speed slower than the passage of the yarn so as to give. the desired moisture content and yarn tension uniformly, the lower roll being retarded from turning freely.

' 15. For a knitting machine, yarn control means comprising a frame and a hard-surfaced lower roll in frictional contact with said frame, in combination with a hard-surfaced upper roll resting on the lower roll freely, the weight of the upper roll being of the order of the desired yarn tension to provide said tension and the weight of the lower roll, taken with its frictional contact with the frame, being such as to insure that water which is squeezed out of the yarn will not pass between the rolls.

16. As a new article of manufacture, a. yarn tension device adapted to tension yarn being de- ?5 ofthe order of the-desired yarn tension, in combination with a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding the rolls in place, the upper roll being free to revolve in the direction of yarn movement. 4

17. As a new article of manufacture, a yarn tension and moisture control device adapted to act on yarn being delivered to the knitting elements of a knitting machine, comprising two smooth rolls, one resting on the' other only by its own weight, in combination with a frame guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding the rolls in position, said frame providing frictional resistance to the lower roll turning freely due to the weight of the rolls, thus insuring that any moisture squeeaed from the yarn by the two rolls will roll down the lower roll on the side away from the knitting elements.

18. For a full-fashioned hosiery knitting machine having a yarn trough and a compensating yarn tension device, a yarn tension and moisture control device located between said trough and compensating tension device, comprising two rolls, one resting on the, other, the weight of the upper roll being of the order of the desired yarn tension, said upper roll being adapted to turn freely and the lower roll being frictionally retarded against turning freely, in combination with means guiding the yarn between the rolls and holding the rolls in place.

mnnnm 11cm. 

